cross currents APRIL | VOLUME 2026 | ISSUE 3
from pastor john This year’s Lenten journey concludes with Holy Week and then our Easter celebrations arise with Christ’s resurrection. I encourage you to keep your eyes peeled for signs of Christ’s resurrection power inside you and around you. The early church had their eyes wide open to Creation’s witness to the resurrection. May these signs inspire you to see the hope of the resurrection in your world. The Phoenix legend in church history is associated with rebirth, resurrection, triumph over adversity, and that which rises out of the ashes. Often, as an emblem of Christ, it was found with the palm tree (another symbol of resurrection) or carrying a palm branch (a symbol of triumph over death), or carrying an olive branch (a symbol of God’s peace offered to humans). The phoenix also became a favorite symbol on early Christian tombstones.
The Gourd: God caused a gourd to spring up and shade Jonah and deliver him from his grief. The palma christi gourd or castor-oil plant is the gourd of Jonah. It reminds us God raised up Christ on Easter Sunday to take away our sorrow and grief. The Butterfly: From caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly, the butterfly symbolizes to Christians the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the Greek language, the word for soul and butterfly are the same (psyche). In western French provinces, there is a beautifully shaped bright yellow butterfly-and one of its names is the Easter Jesus because it appears right around Easter and is the first butterfly to emerge from the cocoon, just as Christ emerged from the tomb.
learn about holy week at sapc on pg. 2-3
The Crane returns every spring. The faithful return of the crane has helped Christians remember the resurrection that we will one day experience in full because of Jesus Christ. Cranes also eat snakes, so it reminds us that Christ defeated Satan by the cross. There is a legend that the crane keeps itself awake by standing on one foot and holding a stone in the other. When it begins to nod off, the dropping of the stone awakens it. Let’s “crane our necks” (we get that saying from the crane), this Easter and always, to be ever alert to Christ’s resurrection power and the signs and symbols all around us of the good news that Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Grace and Peace, John
sapctucson.org